When it comes to holding the club for an iron shot, it should be very similar as your standard golf grip. Placing your hands on the grip in the correct manner is highly important as the hands are the only part of the body in contact with the club.

Many amateurs and even professionals are not precise enough when placing their hands on the grip. You need to grip the club in a way where the hands are working with each other rather than fighting each other and also so they can hinge and unhinge with ease to create speed and leverage during the swing.

So what is the ideal grip (for a right handed golfer) ?

Left hand
The club should run through the base of the fingers with the heel pad of the hand sitting on top of the handle. Holding the grip in the fingers rather than the palm enables you to hinge your wrists up and down. The left thumb should be placed just to the right of the centre line of the grip with two to three knuckles visible at address. With the club face square, the V created between your left thumb and index finger should point between your trail/right shoulder and neck. This is a neutral position. If the V is pointing towards your target/left shoulder, this would be a weak position and the club face would want to return open at impact, aiming to the right of target. If the V is pointed right of your trail/right shoulder, this is a strong position and the club would want to return to impact closed, aiming left of target.

Right hand
With the left hand on the club, the grip then runs through the middle joints of the right hands middle two fingers. The right hands lifeline then sits and covers the left thumb. The V created between the right thumb and right index finger should run parallel to the left hands V and point between the trail/right shoulder and the neck.

Holding the club in this manner gives us the ability to create speed and power and also control the club face during the golf swing. The slight difference between gripping an iron rather than a wood is the hand position relative to the club head at address. With an iron shot, your hands will be pressed forward slightly in front of the club head which helps encourage the hands to be ahead of the ball at impact. Holding the club in this manner gives us the ability to create speed and power and also control the club face during the golf swing.

Sorry Try Again! - See Explanation Below

If the V crease created between your thumb and index finger on each hand point up outside your trail/right shoulder, then your hands are in a strong/ closed position. The hands always want to return squarely at impact. With the hands rotated too much around on the grip in a strong position, and with the hands wanting to return square at impact, this will leave the club face pointing left of target.

Sorry Try Again! - See Explanation Below

If you grip the club so the handle runs up through the palms on each hand then your wrist hinge will be very restricted and you will be losing a lot of speed and you will struggle to set the club on the correct plane. The palm grip is advised in the putting stroke as it limits any unwanted wrist action.

Sorry Try Again! - See Explanation Below

If the V crease created between your thumb and index finger on each hand point towards your left shoulder, then your hands are in a very weak/open position on the grip. The hands always want to return squarely at impact. So with the hands rotated too much around on the grip in a weak position, and with the hands wanting to return square at impact, this will leave the club face pointing way to the right of target.